Cell data consumption with CarPlay
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Member
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Orange County, CA
GLA250 4Matic, 911 Carrera S, R1250 GS Adv.
Cell data consumption with CarPlay
It's time for me to figure out how to use Apple CarPlay. My cell data plan is limited to 1 GB/mo. which until now has been sufficient. What kind of data use should I anticipate if I run Apple Maps for navigation for ten hours per month? What I'd like to do is to cable up my iPhone before each drive and then navigate, etc., with CarPlay - is this how it's generally used? Thanks.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,283
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From: Michigan
2017 C43 AMG
what in the 2010 is this? not sure how much is used. I would say 70% of the people on here will have an unlimited plan by now.
maps doesnt use much. back years ago when I was on a limited data plan I used maps without thinking about it. Generally the large data consumers will be video streaming and music streaming when mobile. just dont stream video or music while driving and youll be fine.
maps doesnt use much. back years ago when I was on a limited data plan I used maps without thinking about it. Generally the large data consumers will be video streaming and music streaming when mobile. just dont stream video or music while driving and youll be fine.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,463
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Similar thoughts here. I don't think anybody keeps track of data usage of individual apps, so I certainly couldn't tell you. Besides, I don't even use Apple Maps. Most people likely use Google Maps and/or Waze. Apple Maps isn't exactly a popular choice. Also, not sure who still squeezes by with 1GB/mo. these days. Don't think carriers even still sell plans this low. You must be on a grandfathered plan, and chances are if you look at your carrier's current plans you'll end up paying less than what you do now for a plan with way more data. Doesn't have to be unlimited necessarily, but just to give you an idea. I used to have 3GB/mo for our family plan between my wife and I. That was generally enough, but when I got my current car with CarPlay and took a look at current plans, I discovered that I can get 9GB/mo. for less than I had been paying for 3GB/mo., which at that time was also a grandfathered plan. I don't need unlimited as both my wife and I spend a lot of time on our home or work Wi-Fi during the day, and I currently don't even use close to 9GB/mo. with the pandemic.
What I can tell you, map data as said above doesn't use all that much data as long as you don't turn on satellite imagery. I used Google Maps over CarPlay straight for two months in Europe while doing European Delivery with my C63. I was using a local 3GB prepaid plan on an eSIM, and I almost burned through that with a couple of long drives and satellite view turned on. I turned it off eventually and used just plain maps, and with that 3GB/mo was plenty for the almost 7000 miles I drove in the two months, and for all the other data usage I had while traveling.
What I can tell you, map data as said above doesn't use all that much data as long as you don't turn on satellite imagery. I used Google Maps over CarPlay straight for two months in Europe while doing European Delivery with my C63. I was using a local 3GB prepaid plan on an eSIM, and I almost burned through that with a couple of long drives and satellite view turned on. I turned it off eventually and used just plain maps, and with that 3GB/mo was plenty for the almost 7000 miles I drove in the two months, and for all the other data usage I had while traveling.
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Joined: Nov 2017
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2018 Mercedes C43 AMG Coupe
Instead of attacking your phone plan, lemme tell ya that you can track your data usage on your iPhone by going into settings>cellular. 
IIRC, it uses about 5MB per hour which is nothing.
IIRC, it uses about 5MB per hour which is nothing.
